Category Archives: Food Photography

An Old Holiday Favorite, In a New Light

At this time of year, holiday traditions centered around food often ‘consume’ much of our time and energy.  This year, Gamut One Studios wanted to spotlight the problem of hunger in the Twin Cities.  Cans of green beans, cream of mushroom soup and fried onions were cleverly shaped into a Christmas tree for our annual holiday card, by our own food-savvy photographer, Jeff Schmieg.  With help from the crafty hands of stylist, Laurie Goeman, and G1’s builder-extraordinaire, Myron Wolf, they created a wonderful image that will hopefully warm up the holidays in more ways then one.

While it would be fun to grab our can openers and whip up a super size casserole, this work of art is a small part of Gamut One Studios’ gift to the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf (GEFS). Started in 1975, GEFS is located in the basement of the Plymouth Congregational Church in South Minneapolis. They serve over 1,500 households every month with a mostly volunteer staff.

Gamut One Studios is proud to support their much needed work with a donation on behalf of our clients.  The gratitude expressed by the GEFS volunteers and their clients was incredible and confirms the validity of ‘It is better to give than to receive.’

If you are looking for a way to give back this season, GEFS accepts food donations of all varieties in person and gratefully accepts cash donations through their website at www.grovelandfoodshelf.org.  It’s amazing how they can leverage their food dollars in ways that consumers can not with a normal grocer.

Gamut One Studios will continue to support the Groveland Emergency Food Shelf with a fundraiser and food drive at our 4th Annual Super Bowl party in February.  We look forward to seeing you all there!

Feels like it’s been around forever…

Campbell’s Green Bean Casserole recipe (using their cream of mushroom soup) was developed in 1955.

That’s a lot, but they need more…

Groveland Emergency Food Shelf buys 70-80% of the more then 30,000 pounds of food they distribute every month.

Did you know? Green beans are also called snap beans because of the sound they make when being broken. Green beans can also be called string beans because many varieties used to have a long string that ran along the seam of the bean.

Extending the reach…

The Groveland Food For Youth program was the state’s first food shelf specifically aimed at helping homeless and at-risk youth to age 23 with food and referrals to other organizations.

Happy Holidays from Gamut One Studios!

Food Photography on the Fly

Recipe for Success

If you’ve been to the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport lately, you know that the Minneapolis Airport Commission (MAC) is pulling out all the stops to keep travelers entertained, well-fed and happy. Gamut One Studios’ Jeff Schmieg, our food shooting specialist, has been part of that project for over fifteen years now.  MAC’s most current promotion is a bi-monthly coupon book called Eat, Shop, Relax. Each cover of this book is an entree image shot by Jeff from a MSP restaurant, such as French Meadow Bakery, Ikes, Axel’s BonFire Grill, TGI Fridays, and more.  Working with Kate Dougherty from MAC Marketing, and food stylist, Laurie Goeman, Jeff uses his years of food photography experience to create mouth-watering images for the featured restaurants with such detail that visitors and travelers can almost taste them!

Food Photography CoversGreat ingredients

Of course, every project has different challenges and this is where Jeff’s extensive experience shines. Whether it’s planning a location shoot at the airport or trying to simulate the atmosphere of the restaurant in studio, there are issues and details that need creative solutions.  Props, backgrounds and table top surfaces are cleverly chosen to enhance each image aesthetic and theme as well as addressing height and size challenges like a horizontal product needing to fit the Eat, Shop, Relax book’s narrow, vertical layout.

“Their creative, professional and detail-oriented approach always produces gorgeous looking photos. One thing that sets Gamut One Studios apart, aside from their vast amount of experience, is the extensive prop and background collection that is available.”     ~ Kate Dougherty, Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport Marketing

Food photography on location

Food related issues are worked out as Jeff, Laurie and Kate communicate with
the restaurants to learn the specific details of each entree and how those will affect the shoot. Is the entree going to arrive par cooked or does it need to be created fresh on set? Do we need some fresh cilantro to top the dish? Working with a flexible and experienced crew helps in creating a tasty and successful image.

Well Crafted

And even with all the preparation, Jeff knows better than anyone that photographing food almost always involves some ‘tricks of the trade’.  Keeping that bowl of soup or mug of beer looking like it is fresh and ready to be devoured can take tricks ranging from food replacements (hint: marbles hiding in the soup) to fast hands bringing in a new batch every few shots.  Gamut One Studios creates top-notch food images with help from food stylist, Laurie Goeman.  Laurie’s eagle eyes and quick hands work their magic while Jeff perfects the lights, angles, and focus for achieving the ultimate fresh food image that fits perfectly into the layouts.  In addition, partnerships with clients like MAC’s Kate Dougherty whose hands-on approach and upbeat attitude, help move a time-sensitive and demanding photo shoot along.

Food Photography Minneapolis Saint Paul

After all that goes into the photo shoot, the final result is an appetizing photo that draws customers into the restaurants. Next time you’re at the airport, pick up one of the Eat, Shop, Relax booklets and see for yourself how Jeff’s food photography looks good enough to eat!

 
 
 
 

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